Indonesia warm up for World Cup qualifier against Iran with a comfortable win over Palestine

By Eric Noveanto

After an unconvincing first-half Team Garuda stepped it up a notch in the second stanza to topple Palestine 4-1 in a friendly on Monday but not everyone was satisfied

Indonesia coach Wim Rijsbergen says he was not satisfied with the performance of his team in Monday's 4-1 victory over Palestine.

The match, which was a warm-up for Team Garuda who face Iran in Tehran on September 2 in their opening 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier, started slowly but Indonesia eventually took control.

Indonesia started to show improved performances in the middle of first half, with captain Bambang Pamungkas having a golden opportunity after 18 minutes.

Starting from a low cross from Zulkifli Syukur on the right side, Cristian Gonzalez sent a short plass to Bambang but his close-range shot went wide.

However, the rest of the team looked nervous early in the second half and Palestine went ahead through Obaid Sulaiman who sprung Indonesia's unconvincing offisde trap before he simply chipped the ball past Markus Horison.

The goal was precisely what Team Garuda needed to urge them into action and they finally succeeded to equalise in the second half.

Cristian Gonzales won a free-kick for Indonesia on 65 minutes and his shot was parried by the Palestine goalkeeper, but only into the path of Hariono who headed home.

However the goalscorer succumbed to injury after he crashed into a Palestine defender when netting. Hariono was later substituted by Tony Sucipto.

Indonesia went into the lead after 70 minutes, starting from a counter-attack scheme. Muhammad Ridwan ran from the left side and then sent a flat cross which Gonzales easily struck to put Indonesia ahead by 2-1.

Bambang made it 3-1 on 77 minutes after a through pass from Cristian Gonzales. Bambang easily hit the ball past the goalie, to confirm the superiority of Indonesia.

Six minutes before the end, Bambang scored his second goal when he swooped on a loose ball.

Team Garuda continued to attack the defence of Palestine, where a few chances were created through Okto Maniani and Gonzales, but until the game ended, with the score 4-1 to Indonesia.